Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, is calling on the government to give local councils a fair funding deal following a tour he has made of the home counties recently.

Cllr Rodwell’s video highlights what the government’s Fair Funding Formula review could mean for Barking & Dagenham compared to places like Hampshire, Surrey and Kent. He concludes, everyone is being short-changed.  

Barking and Dagenham residents could benefit from a warmer home this winter through the council’s Cosy Homes Scheme.

The council is working in partnership with E.ON energy and J&J Crump installers to help eligible residents make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat by offering free energy saving measures including cavity wall, party wall and loft insulation, and in some cases replacement boilers or new heating systems.

Eastbury Community School in Barking recently celebrated NSPCC Number Day for the first time.

The event saw pupils don fancy dress and get involved with lots of fun maths- based games.

Number Day is a maths-inspired fundraising day organised by the children’s charity, the NSPCC. It aims to get children inspired by maths, whilst raising money for worthy causes. In total, pupils managed to raise a massive £300.

Barking and Dagenham Council remembers Titanic survivor and former local resident, Eva Hart, by renewing a commemorative plaque in St. Chad’s Park in Dagenham. 

Eva Hart’s life was marked with a tree, which was planted shortly after her death in 1996 along with a commemorative plaque. Over time, the plaque became damaged from the elements and a member of the British Titanic Society who became concerned about it asked if it could be replaced.

Residents across Barking and Dagenham will now be able to access a range of services including education, jobs and skills and healthy lifestyles opportunities all under one roof – when a new service opens at the Adult College campus in Dagenham.

The Parsloes Healthy Hub will create fantastic opportunities for residents to improve their lives whilst enjoying fun, informative workshops and get free advice from a range of professionals.

A Dagenham shop keeper has been hit in the wallet for nearly £900 for trading illegally without a licence. 



Mr Rotimi Oyewole, trading as Mafowurosere Foods of 273 Heathway, Dagenham has been ordered to pay costs totalling £883 after being caught out trading without a valid street trading licence.

Barking and Dagenham Council’s ambition to be the ‘green capital of the Capital’ took another step as the council’s parking service took delivery of new electric cars as part of its commitment to reduce vehicle emissions in the borough.

Last year, the council introduced charges to encourage motorists to ditch gas guzzling vehicles and move to more environmentally friendly means of transport. 

The Legal Practice at Barking and Dagenham Council have been selected as a finalist for the Legal Team of the Year in the Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) Awards 2020.

The Prosecution and Litigation Team had an unprecedented success in a court victory against B&M Retail in May 2019. The prosecution was conducted in partnership with Redbridge Council, and relates to three offences of the sale of underage knives, where B&M staff had sold knives to teenagers as young as 14.

A Barking supermarket has been ordered to pay costs totalling £1,112 after being caught out on two separate occasions, selling a trolley full of watermelons on the highway directly outside the shop by council enforcement officers.

Falcon Supermarket of 32 London Road, operating as Express Food & Wine was caught street trading without a license, outside their shop in Barking.

On further investigation, officers discovered that the business did not hold a valid Street Trading Licence for the sale or display of goods.

A young 18-year old mother (who was 17 at the time) has been able to get her life on back on track with a place at college and an early years provision for her young child and has stayed out of debt thanks to help from a council service.

This positive outcome has been achieved thanks to a close partnership between the council run nursery – Abbey Nursery and the local college.

The nursery’s innovative approach to being proactive and building a good relationship with parents also played a pivotal role in this success.